Stone Cold

The Camel Club has earned themselves some formidable enemies, but now things are getting much more personal. Men from Oliver Stone’s past are turning up dead and now Stone is being hunted by an invisible killer. Meanwhile, honorary member Annabelle Conroy is being hunted by Jerry Bagger – who murdered her mother and she stole forth million dollars from. With lethal threats on two fronts, the Camel Club will have to use every trick they have just to stay alive long enough to learn the secrets nobody wants them to know.

Stone Cold is David Baldacci’s third installment featuring the group of divergent individuals calling themselves The Camel Club. Each is plugged into the Washington D.C. establishment in one way or another, but they show more are all outsiders who have worked to prevent corruptible powers to harm the country. In the first two books, Baldacci succeeds in creating an espionage thriller with lots of action and more than a little heart. Not only does Stone Cold continue the story, it frankly takes it to another level.

The Camel Club books are all about action and intrigue. What makes them a cut above many other espionage franchises are the personalities of the characters. Oliver Stone has been the central character all along, but Baldacci really digs much deeper into his character in Stone Cold, and the story truly benefits from it. The conflicted nature of Stone – between the actions of his past and the desires of his new life – create a yin and yang nature to him that is compelling. Annabelle Conroy also comes into her own, fleshing out her backstory and helping to drive the plot on to separate, but interconnected fronts.

As with all of The Camel Club books, there is plenty of action, mayhem and double-crosses to keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Is Stone Cold over-the-top at times? Certainly. However, Baldacci has used it more effectively with each book and Stone Cold is the best yet. Still, it is the characters that make the series so good. As I said in my review of The Camel Club years ago, I hoped that the storylines would improve because the characters we so compelling. That is exactly what has happened.

Another fun read by Baldacci. I think Stone Cold is the best of the first three Camel Club installments. Of course, it is a bit over-the-top, but that's part of what makes the Camel Club series enjoyable to read. But it is still grounded enough to make sense and pass the suspension-of-disbelief long enough to get a lot of enjoyment. The strength is the fast-paced plot that never lets up and the engaging characters. Something about Baldacci's writing style just keeps you speeding along. show less

Yes! He's dead! Finally. This book started well, picked up pace, and ended breathlessly. I am so glad to have read this book in the state of mind that I did. Sometimes a good book is wasted because of the wrong disposition of the reader, but I devoured Stone Cold (vague title, by the way) like it was my last book. The best aspects of this book are spoiler laden. Let me just say that when Baldacci kills of characters he makes them count. I'm beginning to think that this author is totally compatible with the way my mind works. If that's true, then endless trial and error has been rewarded. What a book!

This is what I call "beach reads for men" or "dude lit" (like, as opposed to "chick lit" get it?) This stuff is no more realistic than your average romance novel, but somehow gets treated with much, much more gravitas? Oh, well. The characters, especially the Camel Club themselves, were entertaining and the plot was suspenseful. A quick read even considering the relatively prolific amount of pages.
In this one, we've also got a decently intelligent, capable female joining the Camel Club, and an antagonist that's rather sympathetic. I like how these are building.

This is definitely my favorite one of the Camel Club series so far. The plots are much less serpentine than in the earlier works. There are two main plotlines, a con artist being hunted by the really really bad man she had conned (for good reason) and vengeance being sought to clear the name of a "traitor" spy who was murdered by his own countrymen. The characters are complex and interesting. The action is always intense. And the plots twist and turn a bit but are easy to follow. Great escape from life.

I finished The Collectors last week and since it left you hanging I wanted to see what was next for the Camel Club. Parts of this book I liked: Alex, my favorite character was back and more of a part of this story than he had been in The Collectors; more about Annabelle, the interesting and likable con artist; and some of Oliver's secretive past is explained. There is plenty of action and twists but at times too much killing that is "justified" by main characters. There is also a surprising death but I think that helps to make the story more real. In summary, though not Baldacci's best it is still a page turner and a nice escape for summer reading.

The opening of the book introduces us to Harry Finn. Harry is a solid family man who works for a division of Homeland Security. As we soon find out, Harry is systematically killing off the men he feels are responsible for the death of his father.

Picking up where we left off in The Collectors, Annabelle Conroy had just scammed her mother’s killer, Jerry Bagger, a casino owner in Atlantic City out of $40 million. Now Jerry wants Annabelle dead. Jerry continues his search for Annabelle who, in turn, seeks the help of Oliver and the Camel Club.

In a third storyline, Stone’s secrets are revealed and now he is being hunted by Harry and parts of the US Government, neither of which want him alive.

Villains, assassination teams, killers, and show more crooks are plotting to win and ancient history must be kept from the public no matter how many people die in the bloody cover-up.

This is an excellent, briskly paced, story that seamlessly weaves several plot lines together while adding additional depth to the Camel Club characters. I can't wait to see what happens in Book #4, [b:Divine Justice|3410425|Divine Justice (Camel Club, #4)|David Baldacci|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336266873l/3410425._SY75_.jpg|3450678].

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This is a series that is certainly without a doubt is "character driven". These three unlikely super heroes led by Oliver Stone...who has huge secrets of his own...reach out...attach themselves, and grow on you with every addition of this series. This episode of the Camel Club concludes some things that desperately needed to be concluded and at least one that defiantly didn't...came out of the blue...and will change the atmosphere of the remaining two books. I'm upset with David Baldacci over his choice here...but then I'm not an influence for his choices. I'll read the next two books and hope that he comes up with something redeeming.